The four tones
What you'll learn How the four tones sound, the light syllables with none, and how tones change side by side.
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1 Four tones
Every syllable in Chinese has a tone: the shape its pitch takes. The same sounds in another tone are another word. Say ma four ways and you have four words.
| tone | how it goes | the word |
|---|---|---|
| 1 ā | high, and level: a note held | 妈媽 mā, mother |
| 2 á | rising, as in a surprised what? | 麻 má, hemp |
| 3 ǎ | low, dipping, then a little up | 马馬 mǎ, horse |
| 4 à | falling sharply, as in stop! | 骂罵 mà, to scold |
The tone is part of the word as much as its sounds are. Pinyin marks it over the vowel.
A third tone rises at the end only when it is said alone, or last. Before any other tone it stays low: 老师老師 lǎoshī starts low, then goes high.
2 The light syllables
Some syllables are said short and light, with no tone of their own, and are written with no mark. 吗嗎, which makes a question, is one. So is the second 谢謝 of 谢谢謝謝 xièxie.
你好吗？你好嗎？
How are you?
3 Tones that change
When two third tones come together, the first is said as a second. 你好 is written nǐ hǎo, and said ní hǎo.
你好！
Hello!
Two common words change by the tone after them. 不 bù is said bú before a fourth tone: 不是 bú shì. 一 yī is said yí before a fourth tone, and yì before the others: 一个一個 yí ge, 一天 yì tiān. Counting, and at the end of a word, it stays yī: 十一 shíyī.
Dictionaries keep each syllable's own tone, and so does the pinyin over the words. The change is in the saying.
4 Tones in pairs
Most words are two syllables, so what the ear learns is pairs of tones. These are words from the first chapters, a pair each.
| word | its tones |
|---|---|
| 老师老師 lǎoshī, teacher | third, first |
| 中国中國 Zhōngguó, China | first, second |
| 明天 míngtiān, tomorrow | second, first |
| 汉语漢語 Hànyǔ, Chinese | fourth, third |
| 再见再見 zàijiàn, goodbye | fourth, fourth |
| 朋友 péngyou, friend | second, light |
| 谢谢謝謝 xièxie, thank you | fourth, light |
| 你好 nǐ hǎo, hello | third, third: said as second, third |